Re: REB:Rebloomers Revisited

The judges handbook makes this relatively clear IMHO

A reblooming iris is one that blooms in the Spring and again in the same growing season (JJ: implies in the same garden from the same clump)

1. Rebloomers (Cyclic Rebloomers), the standard for this group, are cultivars which complete two distinct cycles of bloom. After the Spring flowering there is a second predictable period of bloom. (JJ: the operative word being predictable)

Then there are :

2. Continuous or Everblooming: send up bloomstalks repeatedly at any time throughout the growing season, spring to summer and fall.

3. Repeaters: produce additional bloomstalks with unpredictable regularity immediately following the initial Spring bloom season. It is not uncommon for these varieties to extend the spring bloom season from four to eight weeks

4. Occasional Rebloomers: (sometimes called sporadic) are varieties which unpredictably produce bloomstalks at variable times during the growing season. Many occasional rebloomers perform well on the West coast and the Southern areas of the United States. While they are highly regarded there they may not show reblooming tendencies in colder climates.

A reblooming iris in any of these four categories should produce enough additional bloomstalks to double the total number of days of bloom produced annually.

John


On Sep 3, 2004, at 7:50 AM, laurief wrote:

Generally rebloom means an additional bloom after it blooms in its
normal season. Until a clump is established in it's normal cycle, it
would be hard to call a "fall" bloom a full rebloom cycle.

Even a couple of reblooms over 3-4 years is tough to make into a
rebloom case although it would be indicative of a better rebloom
potential in a more conducive environment.

When is a clump "established", and what defines its "normal cycle"?
Clumps vary in terms of performance according to cultivar, growing
conditions, and climate ALL the time. One cultivar performs best when
divided and replanted every year. Another won't perform at all until
it's been in the ground for several years. Is "normal" the year when it
blooms once, twice, or not at all? I'm currently growing 585 named iris
cvs and about another 100 unknowns, and I'm not sure I have an
"established" or "normal" one in the bunch! More definitions, please!

I imagine that's why the Judge's Handbook (which provides the only
published reblooming guidelines of which I am aware) makes no
qualifications beyond the performance of a single cultivar within a
single growing season, and doesn't mention anything about "clump" or even
"same garden".

Which brings me back to my original question - Is *legitimate,
reportable* rebloom relative to a particular clump or a particular
cultivar in the same garden in the same growing season?

Ugh,

Laurie


-----------------
laurief@paulbunyan.net
http://www.geocities.com/lfandjg/
http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irisintro.html
USDA zone 3b, AHS zone 4 - northern MN
normal annual precipitation 26-27"
slightly acid clay soil

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John                | "There be dragons here"
                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.

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USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Fremont, California, USA
Director, American Iris Society
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